


It's You

by anniesscribbles



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Ben cooks for his wife, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/M, Family Fluff, Force Bond (Star Wars), Kylo's PoV, Post-Canon, Pregnancy, Redeemed Ben Solo, Reylo - Freeform, Reylo babies, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, dad ben solo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-26
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2019-06-16 18:48:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15443502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anniesscribbles/pseuds/anniesscribbles
Summary: Ben Solo sensed it everywhere- a benevolent, warmth that reached out to him through the Force. It was kind and comforting and... oddly familiar. Even when Ben ignored the soul's nudges- when his mind was too clouded with thoughts about his and Rey's growing child- the sweet spirit stood beside him.





	It's You

**Author's Note:**

> This is a lil fic I posted a while ago on my [tumblr](http://benisolo.tumblr.com/post/174021022666/benisolo-%F0%9D%95%80%F0%9D%95%A5%F0%9D%95%A4-%F0%9D%95%90%F0%9D%95%A0%F0%9D%95%A6-by-benisoloanniesscribbles) (benisolo) and I only just got around to actually posting it here.  
> This fic is centered around Rey's pregnancy, so if that is not your thing, don't read it.  
> Without further ado, enjoy!

He first felt it in the night- a small warmth in the force. The presence was close, but soft. To Ben, it felt like a whisper- a whisper that was only barely perceptible over the fiery, overwhelming signature of his wife, who lay right beside him.

Ben was at a loss for sleep. Rey had been ill for days and it was weighing on him heavily. Everyday he would hold her hair and stroke her back as she wretched with tears in her eyes. Ben tried desperately to heal her, to send her comfort through the force, but he was still out of practice in the ways of the light. All he could do was lie awake and worry about her, the one he loved more than himself.

As the night crawled on, the anxieties worsened. Just when he was about to weep with worry, that the warmth nudged at him.

Normally, Ben would have been alarmed at the unfamiliar presence. And yet, somehow he was... comforted?

“It must be some native creature.” Ben wrote off the notion immediately. He and Rey had only recently settled into their new home on Chandrila, so he was not yet used to all the new creatures and their signatures. He hadn’t been on his home-world since he was a child, before his powers awoke, so the benevolent presence must have been a native being he had forgotten in the past two-decades. That the most logical answer at least.

* * *

 

He didn’t feel it again for 2 standard weeks, but this time, he did not take notice. Ben was a little... distracted.

Rey had been doing better than a couple weeks before- she was able to keep her food down at least every other day. She had lost weight, which worried Ben more than anything else; his wife was already lithe of build, there wasn’t much left to lose. He had to help her get her strength back.

Ben cooked her a full, sprawling breakfast with Iktotch toast and vakiir eggs. He was finishing up on the roseberry jam when Rey entered the room. She didn’t look physically unwell but her expression was pained.

“What’s wrong sweetheart?” Ben questioned, instantly going through all the treatment methods in his head.

Rey paused for a moment that felt like a lifetime. “Nothing,” she considered the statement, “at least I hope not?”

“What do you mean?” Ben asked in bewilderment. He padded slowly over to his wife, in a way one would approach a spooked animal, as she gathered her thoughts.

“Well, nothing is wrong. In fact, everything is absolutely amazing. I’m just overwhelmed and worried and I don’t know...” Rey spewed without taking a breath.

“Hey, hey,” Ben cut her off gently, taking her small hands in his. “Just breathe love.” He brushed a stray hair out of Rey’s eyes then led her to the sofa.

“Now,” Ben said softly, “tell me slowly.” He kept his composure outwardly, for her sake, but inside, Ben was falling apart with worry.

Rey took a deep sigh. “Ben I...” she sucked in more air. She couldn’t meet his gaze. “I have wanted this a long time but now it’s here and I’m terrified.” Ben gave her (and himself, if he was being honest) an encouraging nod.

“I’m pregnant.”

Ben’s first instinct was to exclaim “What?!” Had he heard correctly? Was Rey messing with him? Was it a prank?

His second instinct was the usual: dread and self-loathing. How could he, the ex-Supreme Leader of a destructive regime, the fool who demolished the Jedi temple, the man with so much blood on his hands, including his father’s, call himself a father? Ben still felt like he didn’t deserve to call Rey his wife, so how could he call the pure being she carried his child?

These thoughts and infinitely more raced through Ben’s mind. Once he had processed meaning of the statement, Ben had just enough brain capacity to close his hanging jaw.

Rey stared back at Ben with eyes colored in anxiety. He barely noticed it, but behind the anxiety, Rey’s hazel eyes gleamed with anticipation.

“Well?” Rey’s voice rang like a bell, arousing him from his stupor. How long had he been staring at her in silence?

Ben knew Rey needed him to speak, to reassure her, but try as he might, Ben could not utter a word. His vocal cords were just as petrified as he was.

Emotions continued to churn within Ben. If his heart was the sea, this would be high tide.

Without thought, Ben tugged the oven-mitt off his hand. As if by its own accord, that hand crept towards Rey.

With the most tender of touches, Ben’s placed his hand on his wife’s abdomen. Her stomach was still toned and flat- there was no indication that she was with child. But Ben knew better. The instant his fingertips brushed Rey’s skin, he felt it.

The whole scene glimmered with deja vu, not just the gentle touch of his fingertips against skin, but the future he saw. That same future he had seen on Ahch-To. The energy pulsing through the force was unmistakable. Ben had held his wife many times and never had he felt an energy such as this. Rey’s melody and the little one’s rang in perfect harmony.

“Ben, love?” Again, Rey brought him back to reality. “Are you upset?” Her bottom lip quivered like a porglet.

Ben just couldn’t help it- warm laughter rolled up his throat and his face split into the biggest smile he had ever had. He was giggling like a Hapan handmaid. Ben’s joy shone from every inch of his soul, overwhelming the still, small presence that still reached out toward his hand, until it was imperceptible.

His arms gently enveloped Rey’s lovely form as he continued to shake with glee. Ben showered every inch of her face and shoulders and neck with fluttering kisses.

“Oh my darling girl,” he kissed her cheek, “my beautiful Rey,” he pecked her forehead then look straight into her warm hazel gaze, “I have never been happier in my entire life.”

* * *

 

Over the next few months, the presence of the little soul grew, but as did Ben’s distractions.

“Love, you’ve been at it for hours, take a break.” Rey pleaded with her husband, though she knew it would be in vain.

Tools and parts were sprawled across the floor of the young couple’s spare room. Much to Rey’s annoyance, Ben had taken on the ridiculous, overly-complicated task of assembling the baby’s cot. Rey was now little more than four standard months along. Due to her athletic build, she hadn’t even started showing yet. And yet, her husband’s nesting instincts had already started running rampant.

“Ben, honey, we have at least 4 months until we even have to start worrying about the nursery.” Then again, it may take four months to figure out these assembly directions, Rey added bitterly to herself.

“It’s better to get it done now- in the later months we have to worry about birthing classes and decorating and names and parenting techniques...” His list drawled on.

“I could help you?” She suggested.

Ben immediately retorted, “No! You’re carrying precious cargo.” He sounded much too similar to Han in that moment. Rey rolled her eyes at his remark- perhaps reasoning was out of the question- but there was one thing that Rey knew would shut him up.

“We still haven’t told your mother.”

“Kriff.” Ben grumbled. How could he have forgotten to tell his mother? “She’s gonna kill me.” He exclaimed like a whiney adolescent.

Rey skillfully covered her chortles and knelt down beside her spouse. “Leia won’t kill you,” she placed a soft hand on his shoulder, “she’ll be overjoyed.”

Neither lover noticed the presence in that moment- the little hand that desperately wanted to mirror the woman to comfort the gentle man.

* * *

 

It wasn’t long before the presence reached out again.

Ben and Rey had invited his mother over for dinner just 2 standard days after the cot-incident. Luckily, (or unluckily, depending on how you look at it) the newly re-elected Senator was only one jump away from her son and daughter-in-law.

Ben was mortified. How was he supposed to elegantly serve his mother a plate of homemade meatlump, (he had no time to go to the market to get more elegant ingredients) then proceed to casually bring up that his wife was almost halfway through her pregnancy? Princess Leia Organa did not raise him to neglect sharing news such as this, and she certainly didn’t raise him to offer his guests such provincial meals as meatlump.

“Ben, you’re in a tizzy,” Rey began, “It’ll be fine!” Despite her reassurances, Ben continued to shrivel up like a leaf on Jakku.

At that moment, there was a gentle wrap at the door. Please preserve me through this agony, Ben pleaded with his Maker. Rey danced over to the door and clicked the lock open.

“My gorgeous daughter,” “General!” “You look well,” “Not nearly as well as yourself!” The two women tittered loudly in the hall. Ben hung back, awkward as ever, until he was summoned.

“Come here stranger!” His mother bellowed in her warm, raspy tone as she opened her arms for an embrace. Reluctantly, Ben obliged.

The next couple hours were a blur to Ben. His mind was consumed with plans of what he would say. In the blink of an eye, dessert was being served.

_ Ben... you’re running out of chances. _ Rey called out through their bond as Leia ranted about the reorganization of the Galactic Senate.

_ I know _ . He grumbled.

_ Do you want me to bring it up? _ Rey inquired.

_ I can handle it. _ Could he?

Back in the land of the living, Leia’s elaborate tale continued. “So I have to tell the Coruscanti representative, ‘This is the Senate floor, not a cantina and if you keep doing that...’” They never heard the end of the story.

“Mother.” Ben interrupted in a voice much louder and more robotic than he intended. His chagrin burned, but he continued. “I have a very important announcement to make.” Should he sound this monotone and rehearsed?

“She’s pregnant.” Leia quipped as she skewered her last bit of cake.

“Um... uh... how?” The couple sputtered in bemusement.

“Mother’s instinct?” Leia threw out. What the older woman failed to mention was that, in reality, she knew the instant the door opened that her little family had grown. When Leia greeted Rey, she knew she was greeting two. Leia didn’t try to explain to herself why she knew this, she just knew it. She knew there was a soul in the house who desperately wanted to meet her, a soul that wanted to meet their grandmother.

For years, Leia had supposed that when this day came that she would cry and laugh and exclaim, but she surprised herself. In her heart, Leia did not feel the need for chaotic celebrations. All Leia felt was contentment; contentment that the final puzzle piece to her less than peaceful life was preparing to be placed.

That evening, Leia’s heart hummed with peace because of the little soul. The little soul hummed in unison.

* * *

 

The days flew by like star-lines. Ben and Rey lived their life in milestones, months, and medical check-ups. The soul simply counted down the days.

Rey had now been pregnant for 6 standard months. In some ways these months seemed to fly by for Ben, (who knew it would take so long to assemble a cot?) and in other ways, they dragged on infinitely (fragile, attractive wives can be simply torturous to passionate men like Ben Solo).

Yet, these busy months were all worth it because of days like these. Today, they were going in to see the baby. Sort of.

“You have to promise me you’re not going to look Ben!” Rey nagged in her little proper accent as the couple took their seats in the waiting room. It took all of Ben’s self control not to roll his eyes. Even though she was being a drama-queen, Ben couldn’t help finding her every move endearing, even her anxious toe tapping.

He placed a large hand on his wife’s knee, “You’re annoying her,” Her being their child. Both he and Rey used this excuse frequently, in fact, Rey had used the same one this morning (“Stop eating all of the sweets Ben, you’re annoying the baby!”, she shouted at the crack of dawn).

Rey sniffed, “How do you know it’s a girl?”

“It was a premonition I suppose.” Ben mused.

Actually, he had no idea of the gender of their baby; Rey absolutely did not want to know the gender until the baby was born, which is why he was never allowed to look at the holo when the doctor checked on their baby. Ben had no idea why she wanted this, especially considering how practical his wife normally was. The only reasoning Ben could come up with was that Rey was hormonal, but he would never say that, for fear if looking like an absolute nerfherder.

“It could be a boy you know.” Rey suggested.

Ben shrugged, “It could be.”

The medical droids rushed the couple back into their own room. They quickly proceeded to help the now deeply pregnant Rey into a medical gown before the doctor arrived. The gown was a tent on her, but Ben couldn’t help admiring how his wife glowed.

Ben took his usual spot adjacent to the exam table, angled away from the holoprojector and towards his wife’s face, which was flushed with contagious excitement.

“Its loading…” the Twi’lek physician mumbled as she probed Rey’s round belly. There was a small mechanical ding. “Would you like to see your baby?” The doctor asked with a smile in her tone.

“No! We want to be surprised!” Rey announced.

“I could cover the sex…” the doctor suggested. Ben gave his wife a pleading look; as much as he wanted to find out his child’s gender, simply seeing the baby would be more than enough. As Rey formulated her answer, Ben’s eyes couldn’t help but wander towards the holo…

“No peeking!” Rey clapped her hand over Ben’s eyes.  _ I guess I’ll have to wait then… _

As the medical droid cleaned the imaging gel of Rey’s abdomen, Ben asked her, “Why do you not want to see the baby? Aren’t you just dying with anticipation?!” His tone was energetic and curious rather than frustrated. He wanted to understand her reasoning, and though Ben didn’t notice it, the soul chimed in with the same wordless question.

“I don’t want to have any preconceived notions about who are baby is before they even enter this world. At least let them be born before we start labeling them.” Rey explained rather vaguely.

_ What does that even mean? _ Ben asked himself.

The little soul was equally confused-  _ I just want you to see me. _

* * *

 

The number of days grew smaller on the little soul’s countdown. The soul could not wait another second to meet those kind people outside- the nice lady with the cozy tummy and the gentle man with the warm, rumbling voice. This was taking too long. The soul had to meet them now.

It was morning when he felt it this time. The warm nudging in the force. The comforting presence in his mind. The being that longed to greet him.

Ben stopped dead in his tracks when he sensed it. He’d felt this presence before… months ago… about eight and a half…

The young man gingerly set his mug of coffee on the kitchen counter. He shut off the sink. He closed the cabinet. Every action was deliberate and gentle, so as not to frighten the soul. The warm little being waited, patiently humming, and completely trusting the kind man it called for.

Ben’s gait was slow and long as he approached the beckoner. He barely lifted his feet, opting to slide along the floor in his socks.

Why did this presence feel so familiar? It was not just the one instance months ago, or even the one right now… it was omnipotent. Ben’s mind was alight as memories of the past few months floated into his consciousness. Instantly, connections began to form between the memories.

Ben was only now realizing the identity of this benevolent soul. All the moments where he was terrified and comfort encircled him- all the moments he felt a small chirp of excitement to match his own- all the moments where an anonymous voice joined him in his silent songs of praise. These were not isolated moments. Ben’s comfort through all these insane, beautiful, hectic, and life-changing months had come from one little sweet soul.

“It’s you.” Ben whispered.

The young father did not notice that his face was streaked with tears. Ben didn’t care that he was weeping, he simply stretched his hand towards the beckoner.

That same surge of energy Ben felt long ago, when Rey had just given him the best news of his life, buzzed through his whole being. It was undeniable.

“It’s you.” Ben murmured again, slightly more assured.

“What about me…?” Rey asked, but Ben’s mind was on a whole other plane of existence.

_ My child. _ Ben’s pride and unconditional love burned through the force. He didn’t know if the soul could understand, but he didn’t care.

But Ben’s doubts were squandered when the signature burned brighter. Ben almost felt as if his fingers would light up in a blaze, the energy was so potent: the energy of love.

The soul could say nothing, but it showed him every primal, pure emotion of its heart- the sadness of not being noticed, the pride of having such a good family, the joy of hearing mother and father’s voice, the excitement of being papa’s little girl.

“You’re my daughter…” Ben sighed aloud. There was no moment of surprise at finding out his baby was a girl- it just fit. It felt like destiny.

“Ben!” Rey exclaimed. In his quiet communion with their child, he had almost forgotten who the partition between them was. He glanced up into his love’s beautiful honey eyes that now burned with irritation. “I told you I wanted it to be a surprise!” Again, her lip quivered like a hurt porglet.

And again, Ben couldn’t help but melt into a puddle of laughter and mirth. As husband and wife embraced- their beautiful creation between them, joyful tears mixing- the force hummed in satisfaction. The road may be long still, but this new family was now embarking on the path to their true destiny. Together.

**Author's Note:**

> I would like to thank my beta ReyRidingHood for helping me make this ficlet the best it can be.  
> Thank you everyone for reading <3


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